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Komatsu
(from wikipedia entry, revision required, with redefined links and machine list adding) Komatsu is a Japanese company that manufactures construction, mining, and military equipment, industry machinery such as press machines, lasers, and thermoelectric modules. Komatsu is the world's second largest manufacturer of Construction and Mining Equipment after Caterpillar. However, in certain geographic areas (Japan, China, Middle East), Komatsu has a larger market share than Caterpillar. Its headquarters is at 2-3-6, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Its name was taken after the current city of Komatsu, Ishikawa at the company's foundation there in 1917. Its main plants are located in the city. Komatsu makes the largest bulldozer in production in the world, the D575, the Italian company Umberto ACCO built a one-off machine of , weighing in at 183 ton, for a contract in Libya, which never took place. History Komatsu Iron Works was started by Takeuchi Mining Industry as a subsidiary to make industrial tools for the parent company. Komatsu eventually became large enough to sell to the public, and was spun off on 1921-05-13 as Komatsu Ltd. Komatsu produced its first agricultural tractor prototype in 1931. Through the 1930s, Komatsu also produced military tractors for the Japanese military, as well as bulldozers, tanks and howitzers. After World War II, Komatsu added non-military bulldozers and forklifts to its line of equipment. Its growth as a company was aided by the strong demand for its bulldozer during Japan's post-war reconstruction in the 1950s. By 1957 they had advanced enough technologically that all of there models were also using Komatsu's own engines. Komatsu began exporting its products in the 1960s, looking to counteract the postwar image of Japanese products as being cheap and poorly made, and entered the U.S. market in July 1967, taking on Caterpillar, the world's largest bulldozer maker, in its home market, under the leadership of President Yashinari Kawai. Komatsu did so under the rallying cry "Maru-C", translating into English as "encircle Caterpillar" (in the context of Go (board game) encircling an opponent results in capture of their territory). Expansion overseas was a major focus in the 1970s, with Komatsu America Corporation being established in February 1970 in the United States. A year later, in January 1971, Komatsu Singapore Pte. Ltd. was established in Singapore. September 1974 saw the founding of Dina Komatsu Nacional S.A. de C.V., a joint venture with truck maker DINA S.A. in Mexico. April 1975 was the founding Komatsu do Brasil Ltda. in Brazil. This company produced the Komatsu D50A bulldozer, marking Komatsu's first offshore production of construction equipment. Komatsu Australia Pty., Ltd. in Australia was established in Feb. 1979.http://www.komatsu.com/CompanyInfo/profile/outline/history.html In the 1980s, Komatsu and International Harvester of the USA had a joint venture to produce compact tractors called KIMCO. In 1982, PT Komatsu Indonesia was founded and began production began in 1983 in Indonesia. Two divisions in the USA were established for manufacturing in 1985, Komatsu America Manufacturing Corp. and Komatsu America Industries LLC. Komatsu Industries Europe GmbH was set up in 1986 in Germany. Komatsu and Dresser Industries established Komatsu Dresser to make mining tractors, construction equipment and related equipment in 1988Will, Oscar H. (2007) Payline: International Harvester's Construction Equipment Division MBI, St. Paul, Minnesota, page 144, ISBN 978-0-7603-2458-5 This 50-50 ownership lasted from September 1988 to August 1994, when Komatsu bought out Dresser's share. Komatsu's mining products were consolidated under the name Komatsu Mining Systems in 1997. To prevent brand-name confusion during these corporate changes, the name "Haulpak" was used for the product line Komatsu began with Dresser. The name "Haulpak" dates back to 1957 when LeTourneau-Westinghouse introduced a range of rear dump trucks known as "Haulpaks". LeTourneau-Westinghouse equipment later became known simply as WABCO equipment in 1967. The name Haulpak was an industry term that eventually became applied to any type of rear dump truck. A detailed history of the development of the Haulpak can be found in Wabco Australia."Wabco Australia", ISBN 0-9585608-1-1, (Global General Publishing Pty Ltd) In 1989, Komatsu bought a share of Hanomag AG and since 2002 Komatsu Hanomag GmbH has been a 100% subsidiary of the global company. During the 1990s Komatsu had a joint venture in Europe with Moxy were Komatsu designed ADTs were built under license for the European market by Moxy. (in 2008 Moxy was taken over by Doosan of Korea). Fai S.p.A. of Italy was invested in during 1991. As Komatsu's equity increased, the company was renamed in 1985 to FKI Fai Komatsu Industries S.p.A., which was then renamed in 2000 to Komatsu Utility Europe S.p.A. when Komatsu assumed 100% ownership. Komatsu owns the former Demag range of Mining Machines, which have been upgrades but are basically the same, with the PC3000 being the old Demag H185, of which over 200 have been built under both brands/model nos. In 1993, two joint ventures were formed with Cummins; Komatsu Cummins Engine Corporation (KCEC) to manufacture Cummins engines in Japan, and the Cummins Komatsu Engine Corporation (CKEC) to manufacture Komatsu engines in the USA. Another joint venture was set up in 1997 to manufacture industrial engines in Japan. Additional overseas expansion, primarily in Asia, was accomplished in the 1990s. Komatsu Saigon Co., Ltd. in Vietnam in 1995; Komatsu Changlin Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (renamed Komatsu(Changzhou) Construction Machinery Corporation in November 2000) in Changzhou, China in 1995; Komatsu Shantui Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. in 1995; Bangkok Komatsu Co., Ltd. in Thailand; Komatsu (Shanghai) Ltd. in 1996 in Shanghai, China; Industrial Power Alliance Ltd. in Japan, a joint venture with Cummins, in 1998; L&T-Komatsu Limited in India in 1998 (shares sold in 2013); and Komatsu Brasil International Ltda. in {Brazil] in 1998. The 2000s saw Komatsu working with The Linde Group of Germany for sales and manufacturing of lift trucks. In 2001, Komatsu established GALEO as a new brand of new-generation construction equipment for worldwide distribution. 2002, Komatsu Italy S.p.A was established. In 2004, Komatsu Forest AB'' was established to purchase Sweden's '''Partek Forest AB, formerly Valtra and Valmet, a manufacturer of forest machinery. Also in 2004, founded Komatsu Zenoah (Shandong) Machine Co.,Ltd in China, (renamed Komatsu Utility Machine Co., Ltd. in 2007), to manufacture mini excavators and hydraulic equipment, as well as founding Komatsu Power Generation Systems (Shanghai) Ltd. to manufacture power generators. Komatsu Forklift Manufacturing (China) Co., Ltd was also founded in 2004 in China to produce forklifts. Komatsu moved into Russia in 2008 with Komatsu Manufacturing Rus, LLC being founded, and production began in 2010. New Releases * A new 375 ton Dump truck was released in 2008. * A hybrid machine the Komatsu PC200-8 Hybrid was released in Japan in June 2008. This machines a s smaller engine and Diesel-electric drive system boosted by a battery pack. Komatsu (UK) Komatsu (UK) Ltd was set up in the UK in 1985, and with a factory started manufacturing at Birtley in Co.Durham, England in 1987. The Factory Started by assembling kits imported from abroad, but was always to actually build machines from scratch, and today is a major exporter to Europe of machines in the 13 ton to 75 ton class. They built 3900 machines in 2004 and production has since increased to meet demand at home and in export markets. The factory is a full production line fabricating pre-cut plate & sheet steel to make the major elements from scratch, like booms and main frames. The factory is a former Caterpillar plant, that was used to benefit from the North East's Engineering and fabrication skills base from the ship building & heavy industries following there decline in the 1970s. Caterpillar still have a plant near by at Peterlee that builds ADTs. Engines come from the Cummins Engine factory at Darlington down the road, on a JIT (Just In Time) basis. Marubeni Komatsu Marubeni Komatsu is the official importer & distributor for Komatsu machines in the UK and is a subsidary of the Japanese Marubeni groups European division (Marubeni Europe). Model Range for breaking oversize material for the crusher]] loading shovel]] UK Produced ;5 Wheeled machines from 13t to 22t *Rubber Ducks *Komatsu PW130 *Komatsu PW220 ;13 crawler machines from 13t to 75t *Komatsu PC130-7 *Komatsu PC140-7 *Komatsu PC160-7 *Komatsu PC450-7 *Komatsu PC750-7 Imported Lines ;Crawler excavators * Komatsu PC180-7 * Komatsu PC210-7 * Komatsu PC240-7 * Komatsu PC300-7 ;Wheeled loaders * Komatsu WA380 * Hanomag — now a Komatsu subsidiary and build some of the European market models ;Dumper trucks * Komatsu 830E, * Komatsu 930E, Earlier models ;Bulldozer * Komatsu D50A - ? Direct Drive - 90 hp * Komatsu D60A - ? Direct Drive - 140 hp * Komatsu D65A - ? Torqueflow - 140 hp * Komatsu D65E - ? Torqueflow - 155 hp * Komatsu D85A - 1970s-80s * Komatsu D475 - 1986-89 90 ton with 30.8 litres Engine SA8V170 ( A Cummins QSK 30) - 104 built. ;Swamp dozers * Komatsu D50P - ? Direct Drive - 90 hp * Komatsu D60P - ? Direct Drive - 140 hp , Mining Machinery * Komatsu D575 - Competitor to Caterpillar D11 * Komatsu HD785 - Dump truck similar to Caterpillar 777 Komatsu America Models Komatsu America Web Site See also *Construction Plant Manufactures *Caterpillar *Demag *Dresser *Hanomag — now a Komatsu subsidiary *Mining Machines References *Wikipedia for base article *Earthmovers Magazine (article on Komatsu Birtly factory) Further reading *ISBN 0646396978 - A History of Komatsu Construction and Mining Equipment Volume One External links *Komatsu Global - official site *http://www.komatsueurope.com/home.cfm?lang_id=en -European site Category:Companies based in Tokyo Category:Companies founded in 1921 Category:Manufacturing companies of Japan Category:Engineering vehicles Category:Construction equipment manufacturers Category:Forklift truck manufacturers Category:Companies of Japan Category:Construction plant manufacturers Category:Excavator manufacturer Category:Mining machinery Category:Wheeled excavators Category:Wheeled loader manufacturers Category:Komatsu Category:Skid-steer loader manufacturers Category:Wheeled excavator manufacturers Category:Engine manufacturers